The news in this publica-
ion IS released for the press on
eceipt.
the university of north CAROLINA
NEWS LETTER
Published weekly by the
University of North Carolina
for its Bureau of Extension.
5BRUARY 18, 1920
CHAPEL HHX, N. C. VOL. VI, NO. 13
itoriai Board i C. Branson. L. R. Wilson, E. W. Knight, D. D. Carroll J. B. Bullitt.
Batered as second-class matter November 14, 1914, at the Postoffloe at Chapel H1U,"N7C., under the act of August 24,1913
OUK AMAZING CROP WEALTH
NEW DEBATE BULLETIN
More tlian 2,000 North Carolina boys
id girls in 250 high scliools of the state
e now at work in preparation for the
ghlh annual contest of the High School
ebating Union.
The .query which is to be discussed
is year is: Resolved, That the United
ates should adopt a policy of furtlier
aterial restriction of immigration. The
iangular debates will he held over the
ate on April 9th, and the final contest
r the Aycock Memorial Oup will be
sld at the University on April 22iid and
ird.
For the use of the scliools taking part
1 the contest this year, the Bureau of
.xtension of the University has issued
;.xtension Series No. 34, “Inimigration
lest'ictioii.” Tliis bulletin, one, hun-
red pages in length, contains a state
lent of the query, briefs on both sides,
?leoted articles and arguments, and a
ibliography, together with a brief his-
iry of the Higli Sohool Debating Union,
The High School Debating Union was
>egun by the University and tlie high
ihoqls in the college year 1912-13. A
real deal of interest is being manit'estM
1 the debates this year on the part of
haps it will serve to help awakenonr peo
ple to the true state of affairs. If North
Carolina can ever be spurred into action,
she is able to accomplish well-nigh any
thing she takes it into her head to do;
but she will do nothing as long as she
hugs to her breast the delusion of her
misery.—Greensboro News.
CONSOLID.ATING SCHOOLS
North Carolina has generally accepted
the principle of’fural school consolida
tion, but we have not yet practically ap
plied the principle as extensively and as
wi.sely as the needs seem to require. It
appears, however, that thoughtful school
boards and superintendents are begin
ning to take seriously the subject of mak
ing the rural school more'effective and
to that end are looking to the consolida
tion of weak schools and the transporta
tion of pupils as an outstanding means
by which it can be done. To those offi
cials who are planning to give attention
to this important work, the suggestions
given below are offered for whatever they
may be worth.
Too often we have treen inclined to
conso'idate witii reference to the desires
of localities ra her than with reference to
early all of the accredited high schools the needs of the county at large. For
f the state.
THE CHEAPEST BUT ONE
According to figures just published by
he federal census bureau, North Carolina
s the cheapest state in the Union save
ne—South Carolina. We spend in
tliat reason it appears necessary for the
county board ami the superintendent to
look at the'county as a whole rather than
at its various parts or local districts, if
intelligent consolidation is to l)e made
througluHit the entire county. By view
ing the c,(juniy as a whoT the officials
and the peo[)le are enableii to cooperate
orcli Carolina, for instance, 68 cents and to act more intelligently in re-dis-
er inhabitant per year for pul)iic educa- i tricting the county and in planning for a
on. New Jersey spends more than
3.50, and Texas more than 12.50. If
lie were to judge by figures alone, it
ouid be evident that North Carolina
ojs and girls are worth only a tliird as
.uch as the children of Texas, only a
xth as much as those of New .lersey.
The figures were printed by the Uni-
ersity New.s letter. They show that
he entire cost of goveriuvfent in North
iarolina is 12.22 per inhabitant—the
heapest in the country, with the single
xception of South Carolina. Did this
e])resent true economy, it would be- a
ine showing; but it isn’t economy—it is
larsimoiiy, miserly penny-pinching that
j depriving the people of the state of the
lenefils they have a right to ex[ieet from
lieir state government. For instance, the
tate spends ihe magnificent sum of two
ents a year per inhabitant for highways
iiid public recreatiop. Think of it—the
irice of a postage stamp every 12 months
o build roads in North Carolina! That,
if course, does not include the special
lUtomobile taxes; it is only what the
iverage taxpayer, who does not own a
uachine, pays towards the development
)f the state’s highway system.
The Tight-Wad Habit
The operating expenses of the state
rovernment amount to 10 cents on the
iollar of taxes paid, or. a trifle over 20
:ents a year for each inhabitant. This is
he one item of which the state may jnst-
y be proud. Out of every dollar paid in
axes, 90 cents goes back to the
'.axpayers in the form of some benefit—
‘ducation, care of the old soldiers and
lie insane, protection of persons and
aroperty, public health work, etc.'
However, a state that' spends only
Vl.1% a year for its state government is
ioing to get only ^2.22 worth of govern
ment. If North Oar.olina insists on
staying behind 46 other states in her ex-
peliditure, then she must necessarily stay
behind 46 other states in the benefits she
receives from her government. The pov
erty stricken state of our schools is a dis
grace. The stinginess of the state toward
its afflitted, and toward its wayward
children, discredits the good name of
North Carolina. Time was when
North Carolina was behind nearly all
other states in wealth; but that time is
past. The state is now enormously rich.
The next census will show her well up to
ward the middle of the list, perhaps
above the middle, in her wealth. But
having acquired, in her days of poverty,
the tight-wad habit, she finds it liard to
shake off'. It is doubly hard when de.ma-
gogues go about the country with the ef
frontery to howl about the wild extrava-
gante of the stingiest state in the Union,
South Carolina alone excepted.
It is a humiliating disclosure that the
THE FARMER’S WIFE
It is especially important that what
ever will prepare country children for
life on the farm, and whatever will
brighten home life in the country and
make it richer and more attractive for
the mothers, wives, and daughters
of farmers should be done promptly,
thoroughly, and gladly. There is no
more important person, measured in
influence upon the life of the nation,
than the farmer’s wife, no more im
portant home than the country home,
and it is of national importance to do
the best we can for both.—Theodore
Roosevelt.-
per.nauent school system. To getaucli a
view, adequate and complete, it would
seem well that the board and the super
intendents be in posstssion of infor
mation such as the following;
1. Information concerning the general
external and internal school conditions
of the entire county is iieedtM. This can
be had by an impartial, sympathetic,
fair, and accurate statement of actual
facts, both statistical and inforniatioual
in character. Such a statement can of
course be best prepared by the superin
tendent, though it may sometimes be nec
essary to liave assistance with tlwdetails.
The statement should be prepared in full
"kiid in writimr and so made as to be
easily and intelligently understood by the
board and by the average citizen of the
county. Technical lerin-s and the so-
called survey terminology should bo
avoided, as well as the attitude ttrat of
ten appears in the so-called survey. The
statement should above all be sympathet
ic rather than critical.
2. On such a statement, helpful, prac
tical suggestions and recomineudations
for improvement should be made. These
should also be in writing and so stated as
to bo easily aiul intelligently understood
by both the board and the average citi
zen.
4. An adequate up-to-date- map of the
county should be prepared and used, be
cause graphic illustration conveys defi
nite ideas ii'iore readily and safely. On
such a map information such as the fol
lowing should be sliown:
(a) The boundaries of the present
school districts.
(b) The location of each school house.
(c) The location of each home, with
the number of school children in each.
(d) All roads should be shown. The
present condition of the roads should al
so be indicated, and alkroad-building
projects in process or in contemplation
by the county and the state fiighway
commission should be taken into account
in this connection.
(e) All natural barriers such as rivers,
creeks, swamps, mountains, etc., should
be shown.
4. Information should be had conceru-
ing:
(a) The general school interests of
each school district.
(b) The size of each school district
and the number of children in it.
(c) The size of each-school house.
(d) The school population, the en
rollment, and the average daily atten
dance of each school district.
(e) The general attitude of the people
of each school district on the subject of
ihe consolidation of schools and the trans
portation of pupils. This can be gained
only by tact, patience, and without un
sonal interviews. In most cases it will
be gained very slowly.
With the information called for above
properly in hand and properly digested
by the board and the superintendent, a
tentative plan for re-districting the coun
ty can be made with a view to wise con
solidation. After such a plan is worked
out, another map could be prepared show
ing the proposed new districts, as well as
the old districts to be retained. The
board will of course be prepared to give
sufficient reasons for any and ail changes
proiiosed and, if occasion shouM require,
to set forth conviuciugiy the advantages
of the proposed changes and to meet ttie
objections to them'.
Meantime, there should be carried on
a systematic policy of intelligent pulili-
city throughout the county, througti the
newspa,jers, tne motion picture service,
a county school newspajier, extension
work through community meetings, or
regular comimmieations from the board
and the snperiniendent to the people.
For tins purpo.^e an up-to-date mailing
list of the active citizens of the county
should be kept in the superintendent’s
office.—E. W. K.
EMPTY SCHOOL HOUSES
Further evidence of the serious situa
tion created in the public school system
of the country by the failure to pay
teachers adequate wages was disclosed in
a conference of Commissioners of Educa
tion of several Eastern States held in
New A^ork recently.
A thousand rural communities in New
A^ork State have been forced to close
their s-.hools because of the death of
teachers More than 400 schools in West
Virginia, and more titan a thircT of the
schools in six southern states are empty
because teachers cannot be obtained.
Attendance at state normal schools has
fallen ofl'from 25 to 50 percent tlirough-
out the East -
Secretary Lane has announced that 143,
000 teachers resigned last year to accept
more lucrative positions. Tliis is nearly
one-fourth of all the teachers employed
in tlie common schools of the country in
1914
Tlie dangers of the situation and the
disaster it threatens are too obvious to be
recited. The cry of the day is American
ization, and the school, pointed to as the
most potent influeiiees in counteracting
alien discontent. Atet the wages paid are
so low that women find it more profit
able even to run hotel elevators, as one
former teacher in West Virginia is now
doing;
Tliere are no endowment funds for the
relief of public school teachers. Slati-s
and local communities must meet the
necessities of the situation or the nation,
faces a very serious deterioration of pub
lic education. Wages should be high
enough to attract not only sufficient teach
ers, but high quality teachers, and the
haphazard selection wfiich has so long
been prevalent in our rural communities,
where one of tlie principal qualifications
for a primary teacher has been that she
needed a few dollars while waiting to
be married, should no longer be toler
ated.—Commerce and Finance.
crop alone represents a 12-fold increase
in value, our cotton nearly a 4-fold in
crease ; corn, wheat, and potatoes a 3-fold
increase each, with ha^ send rye each a
6-fold increase in value.
All told the farmers got three anrFa
half times as much for their food and
feed crops, and six times as much for
their cotton and tobacco crops as in 1909.
The general average increase in value of
what the farmer had to sell was 5-fold in
the ten years. Not even the farmers will
contend that what they have to buy has
increased 5-fold in price. Which means,
that the farmers of North Carolina have
more money today than ever before in
the history of the state; and they do not
have a single cent more than they are
fairly entitled to.
Less Labor, Larger Crops
We have had less labor on our farms
the last two years than ever before in the
last fifty years—fully a third less, due to
the exodus of negro labor northward, the
drift of small farm owners and white ten
ants into our own mill villages, and the
War service of 47,000 Tarheels in the camps
at home and overseas. Many of our sol
dier boys have not yet gotten back into
service on our farms—most of them will
never go back. It is the immemorial
fashion of war to dislocate farm popula
tions.
Nevertheless, with less farm labor than
ever before in the last half century, our
farmers more than doubled our tobacco
crop in pounds in ten years. They rais
ed 275,000 bales of cotton more than in
1909, twenty-one million bushels of com
more, four million bushels more of wheat
and potatoes each, and one million bush
els more of oats. We lost our primacy
in sweet potatoes and peanuts, to be .sure,
but on the whole the gain in the quan
tity of food and feed crops is amazing,
labor conditions considered.
! Labor in the industries of the country-
‘ at-large is reported to be W’orking on a
I 60-percent level of production, and on an
: even lower level of efficiency in our trans-
; portation service; hut the productive effi-
j ciency of our farmers has been one hun-
' dred percent plus.
j Whatever may be true of other produc-
I ers, the farmers are no slackers. They
I have been at work like heroes feeding
kand clothing the nation and the world.
; They have been richly rewarded, and they
I have deserved every dollar they have re
ceived.
The middle-aged mtSi, the old men,
the women and children have toiled in
the fields as never before in fifty years in
the South. And there is little hope of
any substantial increase in farm labor in
any state for long yeajs to come. A very
serious question is the effect of farm labor
shortage upon country school terms and
attendance, country culture and civiliza
tion in general during the coming quar
ter century. ,
A Look Ahead
In areas of decreasing farm labor one
or the other of two movements sets in
with tidal wave force:
1. Intensive fanning, which means, in
the common phrase, less land better culti
vated. But also it means an increase of
untilled acres, fewer meat and milk ani
mals, inore hand farming and less ma
chine farming, larger yields per acre and
smaller yields per worker, excessive labor
costs of production, minimum net profits
and small per capita wealth in farm areas.
Intensive farming inevitably means there
fore lower standards of living, unless—
and .here’s the rub—it is reinforced by
scientific knowledge, technical skill, and
cooperative farm enterprise, as in Den
mark, Holland, and France. Without
such a reinforcement, it means at last
dire poverty, as in Belgium, India, China,
and Japaij, wheYe they grow large crops
and amazing poverty per acre.
2. Or expansive farming, with mini
mum band labor and maximum horse
power and machine on larger farms or on
a larger scale of farm operations; more
land in pasture, with more work stock,
milk and meat animals; smaller yields
per acre but larger yields per worker,
minimum production co.'-ts, maximum
net profits, and larger per capita wealth
—as in Iowa, say, where per capita crop
production in 1919 was 3)114 greater than
in North Carolina. And Iowa, mind
you, does not raise a pound of either cot
ton or tobacco, or barely more than a
handful of each.
If the scarcity of farm labor and the
high price of farm products mean an in
crease of small-scale farming, fewer do-
mestiq animals, and more wilderness
acres in North Carofina—we have 22 mil
lion such acres already, then we are mov
ing into diminishing, disappearing social
values in our country regions; inevitably
so, unless scientific farming, technical
skill, and cooperative farm enterprise in
tervene to save us, as in Denmark. It isv
well to remember that there is less illiter
acy amopg the Danes than among any
other farm people in the world. Illiter
ate farmers are only two in the thousand,
in Denmark; they are 190 per thousand
white and black, in North Carolina.
The Small Farm Danger
Our re-adjustment problems in south
ern farm areas are two: either smaller
farms better cultivated by home-owning
farmers with better cultivated brains, or
larger farms, more livestock of all sorts,
more labor-saving, profit-producing ma
chinery, owned and operated by greater
ability and skill in farm management
problems.
Lacking these conditions, we shall have
increasing areas of static or stagnant agri
cultural life with a hopeless social out
look.
Tremendous issues are involved in the
phrase “smaller farms better cultivated” .
No really thoughtful person— farmer,
merchant, or banker—will fail to think
it through to the end. Neither the ap
parent nor the real prosperity of our
farmers these days ought to blind us to
the character of the fateful economic
forces that are spelling destiny daily.
ATe add in conclusion that cotton and
tobacco farming by owners on a home-
raised bread-and-meat basis is the only
safe farming anywhere in the South.
Farming of this sort sidesteps all the pit-
falls we have tried to indicate in this brief
analysis of our 1919 crop. A self-feeding
farm system would hold down in North
Carolina the 250 million dollars that will
this year be sent out of the state for hay
and forage, bread and meat alone. A
full half of our cotton and tobacco money
can he found in the pockets of the grain
and livestock farmers of the middle west.
federal census bureau has made, but per- due agitation, and by innumerable per-
OUR AMAZING CHOP WEALTH
Six hundred and eighty-three million
dollars! That’s the value of the 1919
crops of North Carolina, as estimated by
the federal department of agriculture.
The total taxables of the State in 1918
were 942 million dollars. But in a single
year our fanners create a volume of crop
wealth equal to two-tliirdsof the property
values we have been able to accumulate
on our tax books in 250 years.
When the values created by our forests,
factories, foundries, mines, and quarries
are added, the total of primary wealth
created in North Carolina in one year
overtops the taxable wealth of two and a
half centuries by many million dollars.
Moving Toward The Top
Ten years ago eipiteen states stood a-
liead of North Carolina in total crop val
ues. In 1914 and 1915,onr rank was 15th.
In 1916 and 1917, it was 11th, in 1918 it
was 5tb, but in 1919 only Texas, Iowa,
and Illinois stood between us and the top
of the column.
Ten years ago our total crop values
were 143 million dollars; last year they
were 683 million dollars—which is nearly
a 5-fold increase since 1909. Our tobacco
TOTAL CROP VALUES IN 1919
Based on the Report of the Federal Bureau of Crop Estimates, December 1919,
AHSS HENRIETTA R. SMEDES
University of North Carolina
Rank State
Crop A^'alues ]
1
Texas
311,076,163,000
2
Iowa
861,338,000
3
Illinois
813,164,000
4
North Carolina.. .
683,168,000
5
Kansas
631,784,000
6
Georgia
613,240,000
7
Ohio
567,643,000
8
Missouri'.
549,105,000-
9
Nebraska
543,482,000
10
Oklahoma
522,565,000
11
South Carolina ...
520,522,000
12
Indiana
503,940,000
13
New A'ork
498,179,000
14
Minnesota........
497,736,000
15
Mississippi
16
Kentucky
476,863,000
17
California
475,251,000
18
Pennsylvania
467,351,000
19
AVisconsin
433,039,-000
26
Michigan
415,615,000
21
Arkansas
395,226,000
,22
Alabama
385,791,000
23
Tennessee
355,912,000
24
A'irginia
341,052,000
Rank State
Crop Values
25
South Dakota . .
.. $321,292,000
26
North Dakota . . .
270,981,000
27
Louisana
231,506,000
28
Colorado
204,576,000
29
W'ashingtoii ....
196,461,000
30
West Virginia ....
152,071,000
31
Oregon
139,060.000
32
Alary land
132,743,000
33
Idaho
114,430,000
34
New Jersey
105,303,000
35
Alaine
36
Florida
37
Alontana
38
Alassachusetts
76,191,000
39
Connecticut
40
Vermont
63,318,000
41
New' Alexico
... , 63,098,000
42
Arizona
56,248,000
43
AVyoming
44
Utah
48,476,000
45
New Hampshire.
40,260,000
46
Delaware
26,339,000
47 (^Nevada
20,622,000
48
Rhode Island,...
8,660,000